Over 16 years later, in November 2025, Pukki will play his final matches in a Finland shirt, as the only man to overtake Litmanen in the nation's all-time scoring charts, while Litmanen is the only man to have won more caps than Pukki.
This month, the now-35-year-old will have his last chances to add to his 131 caps and 42 goals when Finland conclude their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Group G campaign at home to Malta in Helsinki on 14th November, before a friendly against Andorra in Tampere three days later.
Having returned to his homeland and former club HJK for the 2025 season, the signs were there that Pukki was already in the winter of his career. Now, a major chapter in the Kotka native's career has closed with the decision to retire from the Eagle Owls.
"I am really proud that I have been able to do this for as long as I have. It has been many years since my debut, and there have been quite a few matches and goals since then." Pukki told the Finnish FA.
"Lately I have had the feeling that now is the right time to leave these circles. The decision was not easy, but it feels right now that I have made it public. There are two final games ahead, and I want to enjoy every moment as much as I can," he added.
Amid the success at Norwich City and Brondby, Pukki had testing times in his club career at the likes of Sevilla and Celtic. Through the difficult spells, spending time away with the national team provided him with a chance to unwind.
"When things were going badly for the club team when I was younger, the national team was a kind of refuge." he recalled.
"There was always a good atmosphere in the team and here I got a kind of enthusiasm for football that maybe wasn't there in the club team during the bad times. It's always been really cool to come here."
Pukki sits 10 goals clear of Litmanen in the Finnish all-time scorer charts, the same number he scored in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2020, as he propelled Finland to their first and only major tournament to date.
"It was once quite a long way off that Finland would qualify for the prestigious competitions, but we did it. It's done now, and hopefully it will happen again soon."
Even a huge win over Malta is unlikely to be enough for Finland to add a second qualification, and Pukki's main aim is to do what he does best - score more goals. But he acknowledges that Malta and Andorra will be no pushovers.
"There will certainly be emotional moments ahead in both games. I hope I can also score the last goals for the national team, after all, that is the biggest thing for me as a striker on the pitch. I would like to increase my goal tally.
"You might think that we are 'only' facing Malta and Andorra, but these days there are no easy international matches. We have to play well if we want results."
Finland squad to face Malta and Andorra
Goalkeepers: Lukas Hradecky, Jesse Joronen, Viljami Sinisalo, Lucas Bergström
Defenders: Robert Ivanov, Miro Tenho, Ville Koski, Nikolai Alho, Jussi Niska, Adam Stahl, Juho Lahteenmaki
Midfielders: Adam Markhiev, Niklas Pyyhtia, Leo Walta, Anssi Suhonen, Kaan Kairinen, Fredrik Jensen, Naatan Skytta
Forwards: Oliver Antman, Topi Keskinen, Joel Pohjanpalo, Benjamin Kallman, Teemu Pukki, Casper Terho, Robin Lod